Last Chances- Take them
by whitewind04578
Summary: Stormstrike has had her kits taken from her and betrayal from her mate. She learns a lesson- Give forgiveness while you can and take it while you have the chance.
1. Chapter 1

Stormstrike closed her dark green eyes. _This is the end._ She realized, her heart speeding up at the thought. She stood on a high cliff, a flood swollen river tumbling along at an alarming rate. Not that she cared or anything. She stepped forward, now gazing down at the gray waters.

"Stormstrike, no!" the cry of her mate, Fallenleaf, crushed her heart. Then she remembered.

It had been two sevensuns ago . . .

Stormstrike skipped along, her thoughts joyful. The medicine cat had confirmed, she was expecting new life to come into this world. She let out a laugh and then broke into a run, leaping, lightfooted over a fallen oak tree. She stopped and then reached up, dancing on her hindlegs. Stormstrike batted at a slowly drifting leaf, capering like a kit. Then, she raced away, towards the camp she had just left. She skidded to a halt in the clearing shaded by the tall oak, birch and aspen that grew thickly around the camp and territory. She dashed into the warriors den, a clump of fallen aspen branches with the dead leaves still unshed, and almost tripped over her mate.

"Fallenleaf," she whispered in his ear. Her breath had his ear twitch and he rolled over, batting at her with kit soft paws. She gave him a lick on the nose and then settled down in their joined nest. She snuggled against him for a moment before springing back up and nudging him.

"Fallenleaf." she meowed, a bit louder this time. She tapped him with a paw and he groaned flopping over. She decided she'd had enough of this. Taking her paw, she whacked him over the ears.

"WAKE UP!" she yelled, making the two other warriors in the den grumble with indignation. She glanced over her shoulder.

"Shut up. I'm not expecting _your_ kits." one of the warriors, Rosewood, Stormstrike's best friend, instantaneously was by her side.

"Go back to sleep, I want to tell Fallenleaf." she meowed, rubbing cheeks with the pretty dark ginger she. Rosewood gave her a dubious look and then slowly returned to her next, still not making a sound. Stormstrike looked after her and then turned to find Fallenleaf staring at her, mouth wide open.

"You're expecting . . . my _kits_?" he squeaked, his light blue eyes growing wide.

"That's what the medicine cat said," Stormstrike purred, giving him a lick on the cheek. He purred back, his whole body practically vibrating. She laughed and then led him out to the clearing, lying down in one of the scarce sun spots. He lay next to her, his eyes still in amazement.

"Oh, my StarClan. This is wonderful!" he meowed, scooting closer and breathing in her scent. She smiled and then laughed. She couldn't help it. After a moment, she sat up.

"I'll continue patrols and hunting." she decided, her green eyes sparkling in the morning sun. Fallenleaf scrambled to his paws, eyes wide in now panic.

"No! You can't!" he yelped, pressing close to her. "What if something happened to you? To the kits?"

She laughed for what seemed the millionth time that day. "I'll be fine, Fallenleaf. Try to trust me."

And try he did when Goldbracken and Brightdawn brought her unconscious body back to camp, bleeding for multiple wounds.

Rosewood, who'd been with them, explained through her streaming tears.

"She . . . and I were . . . hunting. And we . . . split up, thinking . . . we'd get more . . . prey. I heard her screams and ran to find three EchoClan warriors trying to tear her apart!" she broke down now, her grief to much to speak. Fallenleaf crouched by her side, to numb to cry. Needless to say, she lost the kits. And it was a sevensun later when her life was finally torn completely apart.

She wandered through the territory, keeping to herself and trying to avoid contact with others. Fallenleaf had tried to stay by her but she rejected the company. Her mind was numb with grief, her body aching with pain. Her still slightly swollen belly was a heart-wracking reminder of what she had lost.

Fallenleaf was inconsolable. He crouched in the darkest corner of camp, his once sparkling blue eyes dull. His pelt was matted and dirty. Did he care? No. His mind focused on his lost kits and emotionally lost mate. Rosewood stayed by his side, pressing close, her amber eyes concerned. He finally responded, lying on his side, as Rosewood groomed him. He watched her, taking in her sleek fur, amber eyes and pretty face.

And Stormstrike took that moment to wander into camp, her ribs sticking out like twigs in leaf-bare. She stopped, her dull eyes taking in the scene in front of her. She stumbled forward, her paws dragging. She looked up into Rosewood's dismayed amber eyes.

"Have him, he's nothing to me." she rasped and then stumbled back out, leaving a half dismayed, half rejoicing, best friend and a even more heart broken mate.

And now we come back to the beginning, where she was standing at the cliff, her mate calling out to her.

"Stormstrike! It was a mistake! I realize that now." he added more quietly into the now screaming wind. A wave crashed into the side of the gorge wall, flicking droplets high enough to land on her ruffled and unkempt fur, lying there, glittering. She looked back, seeing her beloved mate and then down, at the wildly bucking waves. She turned back, her eyes gleaming with forgiving love for the tom in front of her now. She took a step forward, the love still shining bright in her dark green eyes.

And that was when the cliff crumbled under her paws, sending her down into the icy waters.

_**And there you go. This was a oneshot by the way. Just a little something to let out imagination. See ya guys later! ;)**_


	2. Never forgotten

_**Alright, alright, Wood Cats, I'll oblige you. Finally. Sorry I haven't gotten to this sooner. Things are hectic at home, and i'm on FanFic less and less now. Well, here it is, hope you enjoy. =)**_

_Fallen_

Her cry tore at my heart as she fell to the raging waters below. I darted to the newly made cliff, not thinking about the risk. Tears blurred my vision and I stumbled back from the edge, feeling numb. First my kits and then my mate, why, StarClan? Why? I cried out, feeling a pelt brush against mine and seeing Rosewood's gleaming amber eyes.

"She's gone, Fallenleaf. Be with me, I'll never leave you!" she whispered in my ear. I unsheathed my claws, scraping them against the soft dirt. She took the hint and backed away, allowing our leader, Jaystar to speak with me. Her blue eyes were shocked, and her paws were trembling as she sat down beside me.

"Fallenleaf, I'm so sorry." she whispered, looking down at her paws. The crash of a wave nearly drowned out her quiet words and I almost missed them in spite of the wave. My mind was so numb from to much pain, to much . . . _hurt_. I barely manged to nod in acknowledgment. She was still my leader and I need to show- fox dung! I quit!

I stood, looking Jaystar in the eye.

"I'm leaving." I said, above the howling winds and the now pouring rain. I turned and ran, my paws thrumming on the wet leaves. I was flying, just as my love had as she plunged to her death. Jaystar ran beside me, her fur slicked down and I could see her ribs heaving as she raced to keep up.

"Wait, Fallenleaf! We need you!" but her cry was lost in the winds and I flew onward, outdistancing her. My mind was alive now, grief fresh in my nerves and heart. But I was feeling something at least. Rosewood's amber eyes flashed at me in my mind and rage came surging, rushing, crashing into my heart, making it turn black with anger.

_Rosewood, I'll kill you!_ This echoed in my head. I skidded to a stop, throwing back my head. Rain ran into my eyes and my heart wrenched with fresh pain. Stormstrike, rain. She loved it. Never mind that,

"Rosewood, I'll kill you!" it rebounded off the trees swaying in the wind and flashed into the air like the lightning that flickered silently in the blackening skies. Stormstrike's green eyes seemed to shine at me from every bush and bramble thicket, accusing, demanding. I ran on, my paws thundering on the dirt as I left the forest forever.

I lay in a small hollow, barely breathing. My breath rasped in my throat, my swollen tongue lay heavy in my mouth. _Water,_ I thought, one paw twitching. Blackness fuzzed around the edge of my vision, and I blinked slowly. A blurred face appeared and then recoiled with a gasp. Was I really that repulsive? Oh well, no matter now. I was going to die.

"You poor thing!" the voice was female, soft with an underlying lilt to it. I blinked again, and moved to get up. She pressed gently with a paw on my shoulder and then spoke into my ear.

"Just hold on, I'll be back soon. With water." then she was gone, just a small puff of dust to mark where she had been a moment ago. _Just like Stormstrike, _I through bitterly, baring my fangs weakly.

About a minute later, she returned, carrying a bundle of moss with her. Water droplets dripped temptingly off and splattered into the dust. She crouched, opening my jaws with one paw and dripping the water in. I gulped it down dizzily, closing my eyes. The wind stirred the branches of the tree above me and she gently pulled the water away from me, laying it on a leaf.

"I'm Valentine. You can call me Val, though." my eyes had cleared enough for me to see she was a dark ginger tabby, with light blue eyes and one white paw. She was sitting next to me, her extraordinarily fluffy tail curled around her paws. Come to think of it, _all_ of her was fluffy. I opened my mouth.

"I'm Fallen- er, just Fallen." I rejected the clans and so, I reject my warrior name.

"Just Fallen?" she inquired, flicking a ear and then drawing her tongue over a slightly dusty paw. I rolled over, feeling much better. My throat was better, not so dry or raspy. "Why did you help me?" I meowed, weakly licking the dust of many days from my shoulder. She started on the other paw and then set it down, her amber eyes thoughtful.

"I really don't know." she said, resuming her grooming. I arched a brow and then lapped at the moss again. I raised my head as she tensed and then sprang to her paws, ears pricked. Val whirled around, panic filling her amber eyes.

"We have to go- but there's no time!" she darted back to the edge of the hollow, tail lashing. Running back to me, Val nudged me to my paws and I winced, the blood running from my upper body to my lower in a minute. "C'mon, up the tree." she meowed, terror edging the lilt of her voice.

"What, now?" I moved slowly, my limbs sore. She took a step back, frustration flaring in her eyes and she shoved me forward, nearly ramming my muzzle into the trunk. I reached up stiffly and clawed my way to a low branch, the pain twinging in my joints. Val practically sprinted up the tree, to a branch higher than mine. She dug her claws in as four snarling cats crested the hollow.

_**I **__gaped at Val; digging my claws into the bark of the oak harder. _She was hidden in the foliage of the oak, the breeze swaying the glossy green leaves. One of the cats, a dark tabby, looked up and gasped.

"Drag! Up in the tree!" he yowled, sprinting forward. The others followed and I shoved Val out of the tree, falling to the ground and landing on my paws. Pain radiated up my legs but I ignored it as I sprinted away, following Val as she flew across the moorland.

My blood boiled, pounding in my ears. My chest rose and fell quickly, as my legs pumped faster. My surroundings ran together, blending into a blur of gray, green, blue, yellow. I laughed, throwing back my head and breathing in the cool moor air. Val looked over her shoulder, eyes widening at me- and then she began to laugh as well, and pretty soon, we both ran into each other, tumbling into a heap on the dusty moor. She laughed harder and then I leaped onto her, pinning her down gently. I looked into the she-cat's eyes- it struck me. I laughed. I was alive and _feeling_. For the first time since Stormstrike, I had felt something other than rage.

"_Thank you, StarClan,_" I breathed, still gazing down into her light blue eyes. She laughed again and then batted gently at my with a paw, halfheartedly. I smiled and then rolled off of her, just laying on my back. I breathed in the scent of Val, the earth, the storm coming in the distance.

I was alive.

_**Epilogue**_

_Val and 'Fallen' became mates, and had two litters of kits. One of them was Mire, mother of Amber._

_Fallenleaf never went back to the clans and Jaystar never forgot him, the warrior that had lost so much._

_The four cats that were looking for Val were her brothers, abusive louts that she ran from, hiding in the moorlands. She stumbled upon Fallen during her escape and her heart softened._

_Fallenleaf never forgot her. _

_The one with the green eyes._


End file.
